Cyberpunk 2077 vs The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Two CD Projekt Red RPGs, but one is a fixed sci-fi story and the other a sprawling fantasy with expansions worth a sequel.
Updated 11d ago
Fixed since 2.0 and worth it at $18 — Night City and the writing carry it, but the build variety is thinner than the skill tree pretends.
Still the best-value RPG on Steam — Complete is $10 over base for $25 of expansions. Check your OS first: the next patch drops Windows 10 and DirectX 11.
By the numbers
Prices checked Aug 7; they move faster than we refresh, so confirm on the store page.
Recent-review figures are Steam's own last-30-days window, read Aug 7.
| Measure | Cyberpunk 2077 | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt |
|---|---|---|
| Value The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt wins on value | ||
| Price now | $17.99 −70% · Steam | $7.99 −80% · Steam |
| All-time low | $17.99 | $3.99 |
| Cost / hour | $0.69/hr $17.99 · 26 h main story | $0.15/hr $7.99 · 52 h main story |
| Off its low | At its low low was Jun 2026 | +100% low was Jun 2024 |
| Main story | 26 h | 52 h |
| Health | ||
| Steam reviews | 87% 968k reviews | 97% 880k reviews |
| Recent reviews | 95% 13k votes · vs 87% lifetime · improving | 95% 5k votes · vs 97% lifetime |
| Peak players | 101,348 Jul 2026 · ↑ 16% MoM | 36,591 Jul 2026 · ↑ 4% MoM |
| Launch peak | 12% of Dec 2020 launch peak · as of Jul 2026 | 40% of May 2015 launch peak · as of Jul 2026 |
| All-time peak | 830,387 Dec 2020 | 103,329 Jan 2020 |
| Support | ||
| Last patch | 11 months ago | 26 months ago |
| Patch cadence | 0 in last 90 days | 0 in last 90 days |
| Steam Deck | Gold | Platinum |
Shared scale — same months across the bottom, same player-count axis up the side, so the two lines are directly comparable. A shorter line means a younger game.
What players say
Patterns from long-haul reviewers, taken from each game's verdict. Not live sentiment — each side is dated below.
Cyberpunk 2077
Long-haul players credit Night City itself: 100-hour reviewers point to the density and the character writing as the reason they finished it twice.
Reviewers past 150 hours flag build sameness — different weapon specialisations end up playing alike, which flattens a second run.
from our July 2026 verdict
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
That an eleven-year-old game still reads as current, and Blood and Wine in particular — long-haul players name the expansion as the high point.
The incoming Windows 11 and SSD floor on an eleven-year-old game, the enhanced build's frame drops in cities, and quests that lean on witcher-sense tracking.
from our July 2026 verdict
Key differences
Which one is for you?
Pick Cyberpunk 2077 if
- You want a story-and-atmosphere RPG and will forgive a sandbox that's mostly backdrop.
- You loved the Night City of the trailers and want to actually live in it now that it runs.
- You're buying at $18 rather than $60 — that's the price where the complaints stop mattering.
Pick The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt if
- You never played it and want the whole thing — the Complete Edition bundles both expansions.
- Windows 11 and an SSD are already your setup, so the incoming requirements change costs you nothing.
- Side content is why you play RPGs: Blood and Wine is a full second region most studios would have sold as a sequel.
Bottom line
Choose Cyberpunk 2077 at $18 for a focused narrative; pick The Witcher 3 Complete for hundreds of hours of quests and expansions.